New Delhi. Indian Naval Ship Sunayana entered Porbandar harbour at 0900 hrs on June 7, 2018 after successfully evacuating 38 Indian Nationals at/ off Socotra Islands during a swift Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Operation (HADR), code named Operation NISTAR.

The Indian Nationals were stranded for nearly ten days after severe Cyclonic Storm – Mekunu devastated the area around Socotra Island. INS Sunayna was diverted from Gulf of Aden deployment to Socotra Island for search and rescue operations after Indian Navy received a distress call from Directorate General of Shipping and Indian Sailing Vessels Association.

The 38 Indian nationals were successfully rescued/ evacuated in the early morning of 03 Jun 2018. All evacuees were safely embarked onboard the ship and were immediately provided with medical care, food, water and telephone facilities. Thereafter, the ship also undertook intensive surface search and aerial reconnaissance of the area to look for any more survivors.

Upon entering harbour INS Sunayna was received by Rear Admiral Sanjay Roye, Flag Officer Commanding Gujarat, Daman & Diu Naval Area. After initial briefing about the scheduled disembarkation formalities, all 38 Indian nationals were put through mandatory customs clearance and immigration checks. They were served light refreshments. Post completion of all the administrative formalities, they were handed over to the civil police to facilitate their return to native places.